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Hitler's Bubbly Sparkles at UK Auction

Bottle fetches almost $3,000 but is 'poisoned' or simply undrinkable

By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 19, 2007 3:16 PM CDT
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(Newser) – A bottle of bubbly nabbed from Hitler’s wine cellar has drawn the equivalent of almost $3,000 at a British auction, the BBC reports. A Swedish television company bought the 1937 Moet and Chandon, which a soldier gave to a lawyer as thanks for legal work some 15 years ago. An allied serviceman probably purloined it amid looting in the Reich Chancellery when the Nazis were defeated in 1945. 

But an auctioneer warned the bottle’s new owners not to celebrate by popping the cork, since champagne, unlike wine, doesn’t age well. Plus rumors persist that some of Hitler’s bottles were poisoned by injection through the cork. “In light of that information I would say it's extremely unlikely that anyone would want to drink it anyway," he guessed.

An undated image provided by Charterhouse Auctions Friday Aug. 3, 2007, of a bottle of champagne believed to have been taken from German dictator Adolf Hitler's wine cellar by an allied soldier, which is going under the hammer on August 17. The bottle of 1937 Moet and Chandon was brought...
An undated image provided by Charterhouse Auctions Friday Aug. 3, 2007, of a bottle of champagne believed to have been taken from German dictator Adolf Hitler's wine cellar by an allied soldier, which...   (Associated Press)
Nazi Postcard (Front)
Nazi Postcard (Front)   ((c) )
An undated image provided by Charterhouse Auctions Friday Aug. 3, 2007, of a bottle of champagne believed to have been taken from German dictator Adolf Hitler's wine cellar by an allied soldier, which is going under the hammer on August 17. The bottle of 1937 Moet and Chandon was brought...
An undated image provided by Charterhouse Auctions Friday Aug. 3, 2007, of a bottle of champagne believed to have been taken from German dictator Adolf Hitler's wine cellar by an allied soldier, which...   (Associated Press)
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More on the Champagne Auction

New owners plan to use it, not drink it
UPI International

Champagne auction quadruples price expectations
Telegraph (UK)

Other Hitler Auctions

Hitler's art auctioned, despite questions of authenticity
BBC

Hitler sketch draws over $10,000 in auction
BBC

 
Berlin • Adolf Hitler • auction • painting • Nazi • Charterhouse • Reich Chancellery • champagne

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